Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election: Polling to be held in 2,500 centres

Nellore: District Collector and Returning Officer of the Tirupati LS by-election KVN Chakradhar Babu said they were making arrangements for conducting the polls in 2,500 stations in Nellore and Chittoor districts and 17.80 lakh voters are going to exercise their franchise on April 17.

He addressed the media on Thursday and said the Election Commission had introduced the c-VIGIL app for receiving complaints from the general public regarding their election-related issues such as violation of code and misdeeds for attracting the voters.

The Collector said the people can forward their complaints to the district-level control room through the app. Flying squads, static surveillance and video surveillance teams and special teams reach the place within 15 minutes after receiving the complaint through the app. He also said Nellore RDO SK Hussain Saheb will monitor the app-related complaints and ensure immediate response to them.

Chakradhar Babu said that they would arrange drinking water, first aid, and medical facilities at all polling stations for the convenience of the voters. They would allow all voters after thermal scanning only and masks and sanitiser would also be made available for the people at the polling station.

Toll-free number 1950 is also available for lodging the complaints against the poll-related irregularities. He said they had seized licensed weapons from people in the district and the police personnel would book cases against the people who carry unaccounted money.

He suggested to the people not to carry a huge amount of cash along with them and asked them to use digital transactions. He said people can get back the seized cash after showing documentary proofs and a special committee has been formed for verifying the pieces of evidence and releasing the money.

The Collector appealed to the people to cooperate with the administration for effective implementation of the election code by informing about regular developments that happen in their places through the c-VIGIL. The Election Commission has designed a special app for polling of the physically challenged persons online. He said there are around 25,000 such persons in the limits of the Tirupati LS constituency and they are arranging Red Cross volunteers and wheelchairs for their convenience.